Monday, May 23, 2016

The BIG Issue: Exhausted Teachers cannot reform

For so many reasons most teachers I talk to say that they are busy. Busier year after year. BurnoutBurnout often affects people in helping professions: lawyers, doctors, social workers, managers and teachers, among others. For teachers, working with students means constantly trying to respond to their needs while simultaneously meeting the various demands of the organisation. When teachers feel that there is a mismatch between all these demands and the available resources they have for coping with them, stress is induced. The usual culprits mentioned are: lack of time, ideas, materials, expertise and support.https://goo.gl/k8vzJYThis is not unusual

Almost half of new teachers leave the profession in their first year because of an excessive workload and 'exhausted and stressed colleagues', a union leader has warned.

The number has tripled in six years, according to an analysis of figures by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

The most recent statistics show that in 2011, around 10,800 newly-qualified teachers did not take up a teaching post – up from 3,600 in 2005.

Around 40 per cent of newly-qualified teachers were not in the classroom after a year in 2011 – compared to 20 per cent in 2005.http://goo.gl/tAIKj2

Teaching Is The Most Exhausting Job I've Hadhttp://goo.gl/8PBFR6Reform Failure‘... it is more difficult to find evidence that classrooms have improved or even fundamentally changed as a result of the many reform initiatives; and indeed the persistent failure of educational change is a common theme in the literature (Sarason 1990, Fullan 1993, Cuban 1998, Spillane 1999) (Wallace 2011).Learning from FailureCan schools' learn from failures to reform, and embrace a society that requires citizens to have the skills and capacities to adapt and change. ORHave schools resigned to the continuation of failure and are inept to reform due to teacher fatigue?

Bogan Word list

How many of these words will Aussie pollies drop this election?

AAnzac, Anzacs, Anzac Day (i.e. Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)Aria Awards, Arias (music awards presented by the Australian Recording Industry Association; the Australian equivalent of the Grammys and the Brits)asylum-seeker (someone who has applied for asylum in a country not their own and who is awaiting a decision as to their status as a refugee)

Bbloody (colloquial, intensifier signifying approval or disapproval)bludger (colloquial, a lazy person who lives off the generosity of others)bogan (colloquial, mildly derogatory, a person, generally from an outer suburb of a city or town and from a lower socioeconomic background, viewed as uncultured)bonzer (not bonza) (colloquial, excellent)boofhead (colloquial, a fool, typically a male)bro, bra, budda, brudda (all are acceptable, male friend or relative)burl (“Give it a burl!”) (colloquial, to make an attempt)

Ddaggy (colloquial, 1. dirty; slovenly; unpleasant. 2. conservative and lacking in style, especially in appearance)deadly (colloquial, excellent)derro (colloquial, a vagrant, especially one with an unkempt or unhealthy appearance)devvo (colloquial, abbreviation, devastated)dole (payment by the government to an unemployed person)doona (a bedspread)Down Under (colloquial, Australia)durry (colloquial, a cigarette)

Eesky (colloquial, a portable icebox)

Ffesty (colloquial, abbreviation, infested, dirty or nasty)footy, football (both terms can refer to either Australian rules football or rugby league, but not soccer)Fuckin’ ‘ell (colloquial, a curse that indicates surprise)

Gg’day (colloquial, abbreviation, good day)galah (1. a small cockatoo endemic to Australia. 2. colloquial, a fool, who is more often than not an empty-headed individual)goon (1. a thug. 2. a stupid person. 3. cheap wine)goon bag (colloquial, the bladder from a cheap cask of wine)

Hhouso (colloquial, derogatory, a person who lives in a housing commission home, typically funded by state or federal government; use with care)

Iidiot box (colloquial, a television set)

Jjackaroo (a young man working on a sheep or cattle station)jillaroo (a young woman working on a sheep or cattle station)

Kkindy (abbreviation, kindergarten)kindergarten (first year of schooling, term used in ACT and New South Wales)

Oocker (colloquial, the archetypal uncultivated Australian)one-punch law (a law creating a special category of manslaughter for perpetrators of fatal king hit assaults, with harsher penalties than are possible for manslaughter)onya (colloquial, good on you!)outback, the (remote, sparsely inhabited country often romanticised in Australian literature and film)

Ppants (trousers; rarely underwear)pash (colloquial, to kiss, passionately)pash rash (colloquial, the rash around one’s lips when the kissing was too prolonged and perhaps too passionate. Typically suffered during school years 8-12)pav (colloquial, abbreviation, pavlova, a dessert made of whipped, cooked egg whites and sugar)pinger (an ecstasy pill)pollie speak (colloquial, a term used to describe political spin or talking points used by politicians at public or media events)pot (also called a handle or middy. A glass of beer of approximately 285ml)prep (first year of schooling, term used in Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria)pre-primary (first year of schooling, term used in Western Australia)program (in all instances)

Sschoolie (chiefly in Qld and NSW, a high school student who has completed their final exams)schoolies week (a week in which aforementioned schoolie travels to a designated place to party/holiday together)schooner (a glass of beer of approximately 425ml)scull (colloquial, to consume [a drink] at one draught)servo (colloquial, abbreviation Service station)shorts (short trousers; not underwear)soccer (a game commonly referred to as football in pretty much all other countries in the world bar the US)Speedo (a brand of swimming costume)speedos (a close-fitting swimming costume made of some synthetic fabric and used especially in competitive swimming, for men comprising a pair of briefs. Also known as budgie-smugglers)Straya (vernacular, Australia)strewth (colloquial, abbreviation, an exclamation expressing surprise)

Ttinnie (colloquial, 1. a can of beer. 2. a boat with an aluminium hull)tinny (colloquial, lucky)tracky dacks (colloquial, sportswear, tracksuit pants)tradie (a tradesperson)try-hard (a person who attempts to make friends and influence people without success)

Uun-Australian (not Australian in character)undies (colloquial, abbreviation underwear)wag (colloquial, to not attend school or work, not to be mistaken for the acronym)

Vvego (colloquial, a vegetarian)

Wwog (colloquial, derogatory, loosely used to describe someone foreign in origin, especially of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance; use with care)

Sunday, May 15, 2016

My Favourite Australian Car

The Charger

Never owned one

Never driven one

Never been a passenger in one

But love 'em

Valiant Charger VH

The VH Charger was introduced in August 1971. The Charger R/T E49 in June 1972, and Charger E55 340 in October 1972. The lineup in the beginning included the Charger, Charger XL, R/T Charger, and the luxury 770 Charger. Due to the uproar over "Supercar" which were dubbed "bullets on wheels", the VH model also saw the demise of the R/T Charger and their souped up engines.

VH Charger R/T E38

Hemi 265 linked to a 3 speed manual with a top speed of 203 km/hr

0-100 km/hr in 6.4 secs

Standing 400 m in 15.0 secs

VH Charger E49

Hemi 265 linked to a 4 speed manual with a top speed of 216 km/hr

0-100 km/hr in 6.1 secs

Standing 400 m in 14.1 secs

(Australia's fastest production car)

Valiant Charger VJ

The Valiant Charger VH was introduced in March, 1973 and included in its line-up the Charger, Charger Xl, Charger 770, and the Limited Edition Charger Sportsman.

VJ Charger XL

Hemi 265 linked to a four speed manual with a top speed of 176 km/hr

0-100 km/hr 9.6 sec

Standing 400 m 17.5 secs

Valiant Charger VK

The Valiant Charger VK was introduced in October 1975 and the lineup was reduced to the Charger XL and Charger 770

The 360 V8 was introduced with the VK model.

VK Charger XL

Hemi 265 linked to a three speed automatic with a top speed of 179 km/hr

0-100km/hr in 10.9 secs

Standing 400m in 17.9 secs

Valiant Charger CL

The Valiant Charger CL was introduced in October 1976 and only the Charger 770, and a Limited Edition Charger Drifter were offered to the public. The Hemi 215 was discontinued, and due to stricter emission laws, all engines suffered a drop in power and torque. Chrysler Corporation only released figures for the Hemi 265 of 109 kW @4800 rpms and 288 Nm @ 3000 rpms. However, this drop was not as great as the drop suffered by Ford and GMH.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Reform Failure & Classroom: The Matrix

‘... it is more difficult to find evidence that classrooms have improved or even fundamentally changed as a result of the many reform initiatives; and indeed the persistent failure of educational change is a common theme in the literature (Sarason 1990, Fullan 1993, Cuban 1998, Spillane 1999) (Wallace 2011).

You take theblue pill, the story ends. You stay the same apathetic youYou take thered pill, the story begins. You transform with stimulation